A coach who helped guide UCLA to a MPSF championship and back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances is returning to the MIVA.
McKendree announced Wednesday that it hired Linsday Brown to join the men’s volleyball coaching staff as an assistant coach.
Brown spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at UCLA and helped the team advance to the NCAA Tournament finals in 2025. In addition, the Bruins were ranked No. 1 in the national polls for the majority of the 2026 season.
This will be Brown’s third MIVA team during her coaching career.
Brown initially served as a graduate assistant coach at Purdue Fort Wayne and was promoted to an assistant coach. She also spent a year on the Princeton coaching staff before returning to the MIVA as an assistant with Loyola in 2024.
Along with her college experience, Brown spent two years as an assistant coach with the U.S. Boys’ Youth National Team and helped the United States finish in fourth place at the 2023 FIVB U19 World Championship.
The hiring of Brown will continue to keep McKendree as one of the few all-female coaching staffs in college men’s volleyball history. Brown will replace long-time assistant coach Janeese VerVelde, who announced earlier in the week she was departing the staff.
McKendree under head coach Nickie Sanlin finished last season in fourth place in the MIVA and advanced to the conference tournament semifinals.